Mayor Dave Bing has put
away one more foe by soundly defeating accountant Tom Barrow in
Detroit's race for mayor, ending an eight-month span of elections that
brought voters to the polls four separate times.

Now, the
professional basketball Hall of Famer can focus all his attention on a
city with one of the nation's highest unemployment rates, a $300
million budget deficit and a shrinking tax base that is threatening to
leave Detroit broke. Not to mention a city council under scrutiny as
part of a federal corruption probe.

"I believe this is a defining
moment in Detroit's history," Bing told cheering supporters Tuesday
night after his 16-point win over Barrow for a full, four-year term as
mayor. "Now, now is the time for all Detroiters to commit to creating a
better future for our city.

"I believe that we can once again come together, rise to the challenge and make Detroit the city we all want it to be."

The former steel supplier swept past Barrow, a fellow Democrat, in the fourth Detroit mayoral election this year.

Bing
refused to even debate Barrow, who failed in two previous runs for
mayor and was convicted of bank fraud and tax charges in 1994.

Bing,
65, received the most votes in a February primary — his first venture
into politics. Then in a May runoff defeated incumbent Ken Cockrel Jr.
to become mayor. Cockrel had moved from his post as City Council
president to the mayor's office after Kwame Kilpatrick resigned amid a
text-messaging sex scandal and perjury charges in September 2008.

Bing also outdistanced Barrow and four other challengers in an August primary.

As
mayor, Bing has laid off workers and demanded a 10 percent wage cut to
help address the city's ongoing budget deficit. The city's unemployment
rate is about 27 percent.

"I think he can bring more jobs,"
63-year-old homemaker Luevirnia Thurman said of Bing after casting her
ballot at Mae C. Jemison Academy on Detroit's west side. "He seems to
be more professional than the people in office before him."

Lenore Ford, who also voted at Jemison Academy, said Bing already has put a lot into Detroit.

"He's looking at running the city as if he is running a business," said Ford, 39. "No one wants their business to fail."

Voters also are hoping Bing will bring stability to City Hall.

The
mayoral race headlined a ballot which featured Detroit City Council
contests, a charter commission election and schools bond initiative.

Bing
was the No. 2 overall pick by the Pistons in 1966 out of Syracuse,
spending nine of his 12 NBA seasons in Detroit. He went on to open his
Bing Steel company in Detroit in 1980.

The company grew into several steel manufacturing operations that primarily served the auto industry.

Bing
has said Detroit is broke and could run out of money later this year.
He took on city labor unions this summer, giving them an ultimatum of
widespread layoffs if the wage cuts and other concessions were not met.

Some bargaining units sided with the mayor, others chose to fight and supported Barrow in the election.

Bing
told reporters after his victory speech that he'll be back at work at 7
a.m. Wednesday. He said he would follow through on a promise to impose
contract terms on city unions that have not already agreed to the
concessions.

"I did what I had to do," Bing said of decisions
like his hard-line approach to union talks. "I knew it would cost me
votes, but I wasn't nervous about it because I think it was the right
thing to do."

Tuesday's election also promises
a new direction for the City Council, where a federal corruption probe
led to the conviction of Councilwoman Monica Conyers for taking bribes.

Conyers,
wife of Democratic U.S. Rep. John Conyers, is awaiting a Dec. 1
sentencing after admitting to accepting money for her vote on a
controversial sludge-hauling contract.

Along with four incumbents who won Tuesday, there will be five fresh faces on the nine-member board.

Former
TV anchor Charles Pugh received the most votes and will replace Cockrel
as council president. The top vote-getter automatically wins the
council presidency.

"Detroit, we have a lot of work to do and a
lot of tough decisions to make. And I understand that we need some
committed people," Pugh said during his victory speech. "But you can be
confident about our future, Detroit, and the new city council that we
have elected tonight. And I want to assure you, I am ready to lead
today."

"Detroit,
hold on. Help is on the way," Brown said Tuesday night. He was one of
three Detroit police whistle-blowers' who sued the city and Kilpatrick
— leading to the ex-mayor's downfall.

Cockrel finished fourth,
less than six months after losing to Bing in a May runoff election to
complete Kilpatrick's second term as mayor.

"Obviously I was
working very hard to get the No. 1 slot. But the main thing is, I'm
happy to be back on City Council," Cockrel told WJBK-TV.

Brenda
Jones, Kwame Kenyatta and JoAnn Watson also won re-election. Alberta
Tinsley-Talabi lost her seat. Other newcomers to the council will be
Saunteel Jenkins, Andre Spivey and James Tate. The new council will be
seated in January.

"I think people are really tired of what
they've seen," said Tate, a former civilian deputy chief for the police
department. "They're ready for something to actually change and make
this place a lot better."